Shadow of the Evil God

"I think we'll have to tighten our belts to make it until spring," Cesar said. "I suggest you take advantage of the chaos to confiscate all the food and supplies, then keep them in your hands and store them in batches across multiple warehouses. It would be best if you could find some secret storage locations. Your castle's underground is so spacious and well-defended, can't you let those evil monsters squeeze in to make room for the food?"

Canaday seemed startled. "You said let them squeeze..."

Cesar frowned. "Come on, where I woke up, a Faceless being roughly the size of a human lived in a huge hall. There was an indoor pool for shelter, several giant statues, and a large altar. How much food could be stored if the water was drained and the environment dried out? Don't you know this? At this hour, I think any granary would be on fire, and the castle's basement would be the most suitable place for storage."

The living conditions of the monsters in the basement of the castle are much better than Cesar's. Not to mention the small room in the dog pit, even the hotel in Upper Noien cannot compare to the underground hall where the Faceless Ones live.

"I'll try to discuss this with Thane," Canaday said finally.

"Anyway, I think that since Noyen is so prone to rioting, it's unrealistic to expect them to live frugally and still join you in resisting foreign enemies. Only by explaining to them that Noyen has ample food and abundant supplies, that business can continue as usual, and that all bakeries and restaurants are fully stocked with food as usual, can people be reassured. If you really make people think that food is insufficient, then with just a few instigations, they'll rush out and rob shops and neighbors, and things will continue to happen."

"Perhaps you should worry about your own safety," Canaday nodded. "Before, you could hide your identity and let your mercenary teacher recruit and train soldiers. But after the speech, your identity will be completely exposed to everyone."

The gang also wanted him to face the assassin who intended to murder him.

"I should have been staying at the hotel with the people from the temple," Cesar pointed out.

.

Canaday didn't seem to care. "When you took this identity, you should have realized the burden behind it. I think it wasn't necessarily destiny that you took this path. If you always avoid danger, you will never need it. Only when you encounter life and death will you be able to use it.

Only when you make the choice between the two can you discover the revelation it gives you."

"No one wants to face the choice between life and death. I'd rather stay in the hotel until the siege is over."

"It's true that no one wants to, but not everyone can make the choice between life and death." Canaday seemed to be smiling. "When you broke free from your shackles and went from being a sacrifice to here, I didn't witness the choices and struggles you went through. That's why I'm looking forward to what's next, and I hope you won't let me down."

Cesar discovered that this man had his own pathological qualities. He relished the struggles and sufferings of others as if they were a play, deriving pleasure from analyzing their personalities through their choices. From Canaday's words, it became clear that he didn't care who was struggling; it could be his prisoner, his enemy, a stranger, even his brother Asclede, or someone he admired.

As to whether this pathology is innate to him or an impulse triggered by some mysterious ritual, only he himself knows.

"Do you really think that I will follow the same path as you and become a so-called fellow brother who follows the true God?" Cesar asked him.

"What else can I expect?" Canaday asked. "If you haven't accepted the path, what good is your vision? We only trust our own kind. That's the most important thing."

......

There was actually a Temple of Pleasure in Upper Noyen, but none of the knights and priests from the Great Temple lived there. The reason was simple: the temple was presided over by the Ein sect. This branch of the sect believed that true happiness came from within, and therefore people should avoid external pleasures in order to discover their inner spirituality and find fulfillment.

Because of this, the temple allowed people to pray, worship, and receive the sick, but it also prohibited people from resting properly. It was said that the abbot's room only had a simple wooden bed that was so uncomfortable to sit on.

The so-called Ain sect sounded like another interpretation of the Ascetic sect of Hierer. Although Cesar found it difficult to understand why an Ascetic sect emerged under the priesthood of the goddess of joy, how people interpreted religious scriptures was their own business.

The temple's courtyard stood with two rows of columns, and in the center was a fountain that constantly gushed out water, allowing those praying to wash their hands. As soon as Cesar reached the end of the courtyard, he saw the soldiers assigned to the temple for treatment. Outside the main hall, a group of family members were crowded, looking anxious.

Cesar knew why so many soldiers were assigned to the temple. If they were assigned to secular medical clinics, these impatient people would definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble. Only by communicating with the various temples could this pile of hot potatoes be transferred. Naturally, Xier's temple took over a batch of them.

An Einite monk was weighing medicinal powder on a scale, aided by knights and attendants from the Grand Temple. It was clear they were desperately short-handed, perhaps because the abbot and knights who had been working privately in Lower Noyen had been killed by the White Nightmare. Even if the White Nightmare hadn't killed them, the Grand Temple would have taken them away.

With the abbot and the knights dead, the squires and servants dispersed, leaving only a poor young friar, Kallen, a recent arrival, to keep the temple afloat. Some believed her to be mad, others a saint, for she had been praying at her mother's grave for years. Originally, a frail woman had brought her young daughter to pray for her recovery, but when her mother fell seriously ill, the daughter took over and prayed for her.

Now the woman was long dead, her daughter a nun, but she still prayed beside the grave, just as she had before. The grave, overgrown with weeds yet untrimmed, was the only one she knelt there every night, her expressionless face stern. Recently, the abbot and knights had all died, and the squires and servants had all dispersed. The nun still managed to eke out a living in the main hall, healing the sick.

Cesar followed the knight Grigga of the Grand Temple into the main hall. He found that Grigga was good at speaking and open-minded to most people, and would say anything. However, in front of the monks of the Ein faction, he would just have a stern face, pass by them almost without saying a word, and even their eyes did not meet.

"I don't know how to face these Ayn monks," Grigga said. "I don't understand why they are among Hiel's followers. We host festivals everywhere, protect artists and poets, and explore how to have the most beautiful life experiences, but these monks think we are destroying people's spirituality and would rather sleep on the most uncomfortable hardwood beds and eat bread mixed with sawdust."

"Sounds harmless at least," Cesar shrugged.

Chapter 58 I'm Just Passing By

Soldiers who had been able to fight on horseback not long ago were now crippled, blind, disabled, weak, and young men who could only walk with crutches in the temple hall. Some of them looked like they had never really fought in a battle and had been frightened into mental dementia. The patients were generally pale and numb, and one could hear waves of sad sighs or low, painful groans as one walked among them.

Inside the temple, a brazier burned, making it feel warm and stuffy, like a cellar, filled with the scent of incense and the strong breath of the sick.

, the attendants from the Great Temple helped apply the powder to the patient's bleeding wounds, and bandaged them for a long time. After a day and a night, the monks would come to replace the bandages and medicine.

Combined with Sehiyadang

Cesar believed the powder was a simple, extracted antibiotic. Some temples mastered specific fungal species and cultivation methods, effectively preventing infection and death among the wounded. This gradually strengthened the temple's authority in treating the wounded, far surpassing that of secular clinics.

Many people pray constantly while receiving treatment, believing that this will help them recover from their illness and prevent death. If someone fails to survive, it is usually considered that their prayers were not sincere enough and that they have not received the gods' grace.

For some patients, even their own prayers weren't enough; their families would pray beside them non-stop. Some, having never spoken a word to a single soul since their arrival, simply repeated, "Please have mercy, please give tears, please give salvation." The low, hoarse humming of these voices was disconcerting.

As he passed the side hall, Cesar saw a corner room against the wall. If Grigga hadn't told him it was a monk's residence, he would have thought it was a place to take in the poor and sick.

The door was open, and the room was small and cramped, almost like something a child might live in. There were no luxuries, only an air of poverty. There were no carpets or silverware typically found in temples, and the floor was plain stone slabs. The furnishings consisted of a pair of wooden tables and chairs, a hardwood bed, and a few cheap clay pots.

Compared to the slums he had lived in in Goukeng, the only difference here was that it was very clean. Every object was well maintained, as if newly arranged.

"You broke into someone else's house to inspect it, hoping to take it back as property?" Cesar heard an emotionless voice coming from behind him. "If you want, just label me a criminal. After all, anyone who has been to this temple is suspected of involvement in the Noien incident."

"I'm just passing through, Brother," he said.

"I know you're just passing through, but it's ultimately up to you, Monsignor Cesare Borgia, to negotiate with the treasurer to levy the taxes on this temple, which has barely survived for over a month."

The sound is like finely carved glass. Although it is fine, it is a completely transparent glass that allows you to see nothing.

"You saw the speech this morning." Cesar came back to his senses.

"I heard about it long before I even attended the speech. Everyone knows you have a superb social talent, as if it were innate. Your words and actions are always appropriate and proper, no matter the time or occasion, even when standing in front of thousands of agitated people. At that time, only the high priest was as calm as you." Before Cesar could reply, the man added calmly, "And, lying is also very natural to you."

Cesar realized that before the soldiers could even come to a consensus, the first person to come into contact with the wounded soldier might have known part of the truth. Ultimately, today's heroes and villains are fabricated to meet political needs, and the events themselves are often exaggerated to appease the public.

He turned around and found a person not much older than Phils standing silently at the door. She had pale skin, even whiter hair, and was so thin that it seemed as if it would break if touched. Her eyes were bright amber, but so cold and transparent that they looked more like real amber than human eyes.

The clothes she wore were very ordinary, a dark blue priest's robe with a white brocade collar with a wavy pattern. Although the place behind her was crowded with patients and filled with pain and despair, she was as calm as a doll.

Before Cesar arrived, he had heard from Grigga that not every Einite fully adhered to the teachings of the Einite order. The so-called love for all, avoidance of all, bordered on the ascetic, and furthermore, strict lifestyle controls. Not only had the Noien temple priests failed to fully adhere to these principles, they had even resorted to opening pleasure chambers.

Among the temple staff who were unable to participate in the joyous operation, only a young monk named Kallen did not leave. Not only did she not leave, she also insisted on living her own life based on the teachings of the Ain sect, and was incompatible with the knights and servants from the Grand Temple.

It's said that Sister Kallen lived a solitary life, shunning everyone, as the teachings demanded. When everyone laughed, she was lost in thought; when everyone was in pain, she remained silent. No one understood her sorrow or joy. Grigga, an orthodox Hieler who opposed the Ein sect, considered her a pitiful person. She had the opportunity to overcome her childhood pain, but she was indoctrinated into the Ein sect's teachings from a young age, like drinking poison, sealing everything away within her.

But their old high priest, out of compassion, never forcibly expelled her, and just let this sick child insist on maintaining the temple, which had been deserted, hoping that one day she would give up on her own.

Cesar knew the old high priest had a peculiar temperament and had heard of his patronage of poets who wrote poems and books satirizing the royal family. Often, he acted without regard for practical benefits or even consequences. After all, one of the reasons the treasurer had prevented them from expropriating the Upper Noien Temple was that it still housed monks and could not be considered abandoned.

It is said that no matter whether it is bribery, begging, or threats, it is useless to this monk. It is like a living person talking nonsense to the dead, thinking that the other party cares about what they care about.

And she really looked like a dead person who had left the living, with only her body remaining in the world.

It's probably not easy to prevent her from spreading things that shouldn't be spread.

At that time, the high priest was willing to go against old Sean in order to protect him. Now the high priest wants to protect her. People from the Great Temple can't do anything to her, so Cesar naturally can't do anything out of line.

"We have to find a way to appease the people," Cesar said casually. "If we put the crime of our lies on one side of the scale, and then put the second riot caused by so many people losing control on the other side, I think the weight on the first side of the scale will be heavier."

"Is this a lie?" Brother Kallen asked.

"Although I lie very naturally and don't even need to think about how to tell a lie in advance, I can just blurt it out when I need to, but this is not true," Cesar shrugged.

To be honest, there's a second reason for this: he lies with such ease, just like he seduces women. It's a skill he's honed over a lifetime. Some people know he's a good liar, but they still listen to him and consider his opinions.

"You've said everything I wanted to say," she said. "I never expected you to resort to such unconventional social tactics for someone like me. Actually, you don't have to do that. Now that the issue of the temple's property has been resolved, if you leave me in this nearly abandoned house, I'll naturally disappear. The high priest may let me go, but he won't do anything else for me, and the city of Noien won't listen to the opinions of an unknown person."

Cesar shook his head and said to her with profound meaning, "Many people believe you are a saint. That's why the soldiers told you the truth instead of telling any other Templars or squires here. Conversely, if you make subtle statements, people will believe them because they think you are a saint, more than they would if they heard those words from anyone else."

Kallen blinked and said, "People don't understand how someone can persist in meaningless pursuits for so long, and they think they're saints. The Great Temple is the bedrock, the pillars of our kind, the walls that shield us from the wind and rain. But I'm just a leaf swaying in the wind, relying on their shade for peace."

"Did you know that villagers would disobey the orders of nobles to protect the village wizards? The Great Temple is too powerful, too far away, and you are too close, healing those who are seriously injured for a long time without compensation."

Kallen closed her eyes. "I've done my best to show I'm not a threat, Lord Cesar. If you insist on arresting me, then arrest me in your name. Spreading rumors during wartime is a crime, no matter how big or small. I won't resist, nor will I commit suicide in prison to cause you trouble. Of course, if you want to stage a death in prison, that's fine too."

He frowned. "I don't know what happened myself, actually. I was just thinking of asking someone. If anyone finds you and asks you what you learned before these soldiers were silenced, just say that the young Borgia asked you to find out. Especially Officer Canaday and his men. That way, you can save yourself a lot of trouble."

"Really?" She opened her eyes. "Then I have nothing to say. You are indeed more..."

Cesar waited for her to speak, but she never finished. It seemed like a bad evaluation, perhaps even a little negative.

He watched as the nun turned and walked away without a word, returning to the main hall to recite the scriptures. Her voice was clear and melodious, and her sermons were remarkably solemn. Soon, a silence fell over the main hall, broken only by sighs, sobs, and the lamentations of various strained emotions. Curls of incense drifted everywhere, enveloping the light slanting in from the windows and casting a shadow on the sermonist, like a statue holding a scripture.

Cesar looked up at the mosaics between the columns of the dome. It depicted the secular image of Hierre, a smiling goddess, beautiful yet majestic. She wore a crown of flowers, shimmering with golden light. With the book of poetry in her right hand, she blessed the world, and with the sword in her left, she protected the peace brought by humanity. She sat on a glorious throne, surrounded by people, receiving her blessings.

If Phils were here, she would probably tell him the horror story of the lost demon Xiel.

While Grigga was collecting property and finances in the temple, Cesar waited there. Unable to concentrate on the sermon, he pondered many things: the ambush the soldiers had encountered, the defense of the city, his responsibility, the food and supplies within, the treasury surplus, and the sacrifices beneath the old count's castle. Later, the monk weighed the medicine as usual and listened to the soldiers' accounts of their recent experiences, but he paid no attention.

When the intelligence officer's men walked around the temple and finally came to Cesar's side, he came to his senses. The man said, "The monk asked me to talk to you."

Cesar was about to put aside his tangled thoughts, so he nodded and said, "I asked her to find out. This person's identity is just right. If I ask him, I won't get the truth."

"I need to give Lord Canaday a reason," the torturer said.

"Go tell him I've bribed the most trusted member of this group of soldiers. Having a monk here to pry the truth will not only elicit their desire to speak, but also help us gather the true facts of the situation. We all need the true picture of the battlefield—the words of several officers are not entirely trustworthy, and this information will save you the time of individual interrogations and conversations."

The official turned and left. Brother Kallen walked to the main hall door, glanced at him and left. Cesar saw that she was leaving, but he did not get angry. He walked to her bedroom and pulled her chair to sit down.

Come. Not long after, Kallen came in, stood in front of the chair and looked down at him without saying a word.

"I said the previous sentence, now it's your turn," said Cesar.

"So you were saying that last sentence to me?" She responded quickly. "If you were saying it to me, could you change the words to be less harsh?"

"Communication." Cesar thought for a moment and said.

"Communication is indeed better than bribery, but I don't remember promising to spy for you and find out the soldiers' true experiences and thoughts."

"I know there's no point in telling you what the benefits of this are," Cesar said. "Well, let me put it this way: this will allow those soldiers to return home peacefully after their wounds are healed, rather than being suddenly summoned to prison for trial. Of course, this is just your excuse; I don't necessarily care. I just want to save some trouble. It's much easier to ask her about the experiences she spent a day and night listening to from a trustworthy person than for me to ask them one by one."

"So you ended up being a spy?" Kallen asked.

"Can't you just treat it as telling a story?"

"I never tell anyone other people's stories," she said. "I just listen and nod in agreement, saying that someone is listening and remembers and cares about their experiences and pain. But that doesn't mean I want to pass them on, and I don't have any need to talk about them."

"So, how am I better than the rumors say?"

"I have no right to judge you, Master Cesar," Brother Kallen said in an emotionless tone. "I'm just an unknown monk, temporarily taking over this temple for a little over a month. Soon, everything will be taken away because of your hard work. None of the property here will remain. I originally thought they would at least leave me a small room, but seeing that you're sitting here and won't leave, they may not be far from kicking me out."

The guy's tone was surprisingly calm, but his words were incredibly aggressive. "I don't want to cause outrage among the people around here," Cesar said with a shrug.

Perhaps because Cesar repeatedly exaggerated the potential harm she could cause, her eyes widened: "I don't remember ever threatening you with public outrage."

Chapter 59: Exchanging Stories

"I don't mean to threaten you," Cesar said. "I'm just bringing up some facts you've been avoiding so we can open up the conversation."

"Public outrage is just your opinion. Since I came to Noyen, I have never approached anyone."

Sister Kallen's voice was soft, but her attitude was firm. It was unclear whether she said it voluntarily or someone else taught her and asked her to say it.

"Do you adhere to the teachings of your sect?" Cesar pondered the motto of their Ayn sect. "Love everyone, but avoid everyone? But you can't stop others from loving you. You can't even stop people from thinking you're a saint."

"This kind of thing will happen, but as time goes by, people always forget the people and things they remember vividly from the past," Kallen replied.

"The premise is that they have a life worth caring about." Cesar denied her view. "In fact, many people are homeless, and many others have lost the ability to feel life again. The more desperate and painful people are, the more likely they are to rely on people like you who can give them hope and heal their pain even though they are alone and helpless."

"You'd like to say these people are going to increase."

"I didn't say that, but you can think so." Cesar spread his hands. "Noien will be under siege for a long time. Although the Sassulai people can't blockade the port, we can't abandon Noien and transport everyone in the city across the Joshua River. The casualties will gradually increase, and the situation in Noien will become increasingly unstable. You can see that the situation outside is very bad, right?"

Kallen looked out the window at the nearby City Hall. "Before the high priest announced that you could have prevented this, nearly a thousand people surrounded the City Hall and refused to leave. Thousands more outside, knowing only that they had lost, threatened to hang the three surviving officers in the market. I know you chose the most effective method, and I know the least costly approach would be to put all the blame on the dead, but the soldiers knew who the heroes were who sacrificed themselves to buy them time to retreat."

"I understand." Cesar nodded. "You mean even if the soldiers were silenced, they would still have deep-seated opinions about me, thinking I was a beast who led the charge in slandering the dead."

Kallen paused, and Cesar felt that she was still thinking, and he was eager to hear what she would say.

"You could be more tactful," the monk said.

"I thought you would stare at me in silent approval."

"I'm still not sure who you are, or why you want to be this mythical hero. Until I know the truth, I will only state the facts I know and avoid making any judgments."

"Not everyone who has been implicated will have the patience to ask why and why." Cesar glanced at the temple filled with the injured. In a while, this temple, which has always been presided over by the Ein faction, will be taken back. If she doesn't want to follow the people of the Grand Temple, she will have to find a way out on her own. "Is this also because of the training?" He pointed at himself, "Tolerate them, live in harmony, and show mercy.

Love instead of curse?"

She didn't react. "If you want to discuss the scriptures with me, I can get you some water. There's nothing else to drink here."

"Well, is there anything to eat?" Cesar climbed up the pole. "I just spent the whole morning arguing with someone about financial matters. I'm tired and hungry.

, I haven’t had time to eat yet.”

"I'll trouble you to take back the temple in Upper Noyen," Sister Kallen said. "But all I have here is salt and bread, a jar of sour cabbage, and a soup made from wild herbs from the back garden." She added, "I'm used to these things, but they may not make up for the trouble you've expended in overcoming my trouble with the treasurer."

Although her words were polite and her voice calm, the subtle details in her words always revealed strong dissatisfaction. The sect's teachings required her to be this kind of person, but not everyone could become a saint. Therefore, in most cases, these teachings forced monks to suppress themselves, making people say and do things not out of their own will but at the behest of their teachers.

If a person has been suppressed for the first half of his life, he may later, like the abbot of this temple, step out of the teachings of the Ein sect and take the path of opening a pleasure house to make money. Judging from the rapid dispersal of the temple's attendants and servants, the only person here who is willing to consciously abide by the precepts and set self-discipline is really the person in front of him.

Kallen brought the food, and Cesar ate on the uncomfortable bed, leaving the chair out. Just as she had said, there was only hard bread sprinkled with salt, nothing else to taste. Sour cabbage was served in a clay pot, and wild vegetable soup was served in a wooden bowl. Just putting it on the table was a meal.

He stuffed his food in his mouth and asked Brother Kallen what he had learned from the soldiers.

"Although I will give you food, I didn't agree to be your spy," she refused.

"Do you need a more convincing reason?" Cesar asked, "Or do you think saying something will get you or someone else in trouble?"